(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
The Texas Rangers made a statement on Sunday night.
Yes, they lost three straight games at home against the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series, but they were able to win the first two games in Houston as well as Sunday’s affair to tie the matchup.
Now, everything is set for a winner-take-all Game 7 at Minute Maid Park, in Houston, on Monday.
The pitching matchup is every fan’s dream: Max Scherzer will take the ball for Texas, and Cristian Javier will do the same for the home squad.
Game 7 – who ya got?#GoAndTakeIt | #Ready2Reign pic.twitter.com/puEgQKT3j9
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 23, 2023
Don’t let Scherzer’s 11.15 postseason ERA in 2023 fool you.
That came in just one start, and it was his first outing after more than a month on the shelf with a teres major strain.
He was bound to have some rust.
Theoretically, one start won’t necessarily take the rust away, but he was in a similar position in 2019, coming off a truly bad week with an injury, and delivered a gutsy performance against the Astros (five innings and just two hits despite heavy traffic on the bases) to give the Washington Nationals a chance at winning.
His 3.80 career playoff ERA might be a better and more accurate indicator.
On the other hand, Javier has been dominant for a while now in October play.
He has allowed just two runs in 10.2 postseason innings this year.
For his career as a whole, the man with the rising fastball has a cool 2.08 ERA in 43.1 frames in the playoffs.
He has a whopping 60 strikeouts over those 43.1 innings.
The upcoming Game 7 has the look of a low-scoring affair: even if the starters show signs of inefficiency, both managers will have the best of the best available in their bullpens with several days of rest ahead.
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